


If You'll Have Me

by Tangela



Series: Burlesque AU [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Burlesque Club, Alternate Universe - Human, F/F, Falling In Love, Feelings, Feelings Realization, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Girls Being Soft, Girls Kissing, I just didn't know which one to tag, Just two girls being gay, Kissing, Rare Pairings, There's only one Chloe in this fic, no beta we die like men, or Bi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 23:29:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17590463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tangela/pseuds/Tangela
Summary: Ever since that one night, Chloe can't stop thinking North as more than just her best friend.But they were drunk, it didn't mean anything.Right?





	If You'll Have Me

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm hoping at some point to delve further into it, but I had an idea for a burlesque AU that will involve a lot of different characters, and I wanted to write more North and Chloe because they deserve all the love in the world. And then I thought, why not write them as a couple? And since the dbhrarepairs Tumblr is holding a rare pair event week, I thought this was the perfect time to try writing these two. So, enjoy!
> 
> Day 1 prompt: First Kiss

They’d been friends for a long time, worked together for almost as long. But lately, things had been different. At least, to Chloe. Burlesque wasn’t exactly her first choice of work, but she was a talented dancer and she’d always enjoyed helping North put her routines together. The money was good, and she got to spend more time with her best friend. What more could she ask for?

Except…

There was something else Chloe would _like_ to ask for, was too scared to ever ask for. What she had with North, she’d never had with anyone else, and she couldn’t bear to ruin it. So she kept her mouth shut, and hoped that whatever this was would go away on its own.

But then they’d had that night-

“Chloe, can you help me with the rest of this?” North asked as she gestured to her make-up, pulling Chloe from her thoughts. “Didn’t get a lot of sleep last night and I don’t wanna fuck it up.”

Chloe nodded. “Sure.”

She scooted her chair closer, and North turned to face her. Chloe couldn’t help but notice that one of North’s legs was slotted in-between hers. She tried to ignore it, busying herself with figuring out what she needed to apply first.

Chloe picked up the eye shadow palette and brush.

“Close your eyes,” she said, and North did as she was told.

Chloe sat there for a moment, brush hovering over the little circle of colour, just looking.

North frowned slightly. “Chloe? Everything alright? I don’t feel anything happening.”

“Right, sorry,” Chloe said quickly, patting the brush into the powder and tapping it gently on the edge of the palette. “Hold still.”

She gently brushed the powder across one of North’s eyelids, and then the other, taking absolute care not to hurt her.

"Okay, open?"

North opened her eyes, and Chloe inspected her work, evening the colour out bit by bit until she was satisfied. The powder had worn off the brush several strokes ago, but Chloe couldn't admit to herself that she just wanted to look at her friend a little while longer.

She wasn't entirely sure when all of this had started. They were best friends. Practically inseparable. That was it.

But then...That wasn't the whole story, was it?

They'd had that night, when the club was closed up. It was just the two of them in the dressing room, and North had procured a bottle of wine that she'd insisted management wouldn't miss. Chloe wasn't sure about it at first, being a "goody two-shoes" as North called her, but eventually she'd warmed to the idea. The two of them had ended up sprawled out on the couch together as they talked through the night.

They'd been giggling at nothing when North had gone very quiet.

"I'm lucky to have you, you know that?" she'd said quietly.

Chloe didn't say anything. North wasn't exactly one for opening up, and this felt important. She didn't want to scare her back into her shell.

"I've never had anyone who cares about me like you do," she'd continued, sinking the rest of her glass and setting it on the floor. She scooted closer to Chloe, taking her face in her hands. Chloe wasn't sure who the heat was coming from.

She'd leaned in and kissed Chloe, just once, before pulling her into a tight hug. Chloe had went easily into her arms, holding her just as close.

But that...that was just one night? They'd been drunk, and North had been vulnerable. It meant something, of course it did, but not...not what Chloe had desperately wanted since they'd kissed.

It was all she could think about. How warm North had felt against her. How soft her lips had been. And her eyes...There'd been something so soft in how she'd looked at Chloe. Not her usual guarded self. For just a moment, she'd let someone in. Let Chloe in. And now that she'd had a taste of it, she wanted more. She wanted back in. Past the locked gates. She wanted to know who North really was, under all of the walls she’d meticulously built around herself over the years.

They hadn't had another night like that since. Chloe was too afraid to bring it up, and she couldn't suggest it herself, North would know something was up.

All she could do was hope. Hope that North would remember, would change her mind, would realise how Chloe felt.

Would want her too.

"Eyeliner?" Chloe asked.

"Sure. Just be careful. I like my eyes, thank you very much," North griped, but there was a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

"I like them too," Chloe heard herself say, and she quickly plastered a smile onto her face and hoped to God North thought she was joking too. "I'll be careful, don't worry."

North looked at her for the briefest moment, and Chloe thought it was all over, right there and then. But she didn't say anything, just closed her eyes again and let Chloe do what she needed to do.

Carefully, Chloe drew a thin line across North's eyelids, just above her lashes. She took her time, this wasn't something to be rushed.

"Just..." Chloe tentatively brought her free hand up under North's chin to tilt her head slightly. North's breath hitched in her throat, and Chloe almost dropped the eyeliner pen.

"Sorry," she murmured, "I didn't mean to scare you."

"S'fine," North replied, trying not to move her face.

"There," Chloe said at last, trying not to think about that little gasp, "How does that look?"

North opened her eyes, turning to look in the mirror. "You're so good at this shit," she said, turning her head to get a good look at each side.

Her eyes met Chloe's in the reflection and she stopped. Chloe couldn't move, couldn't bring herself to say anything, even smile. This strange little moment between them, suspended on a thin line. One little pull and it would all fall away.

"What's next?" Chloe forced herself to ask after what felt like hours of silence.

North blinked, as if she was coming back to Earth too.

"Uh...lipstick," she said, handing Chloe the little metallic tube.

"No mascara?"

"I don’t need it. Lips," she insisted, turning back to face Chloe.

Chloe leaned in a little, removing the lid and twisting the base.

"Close your eyes."

"Why? It's lipstick."

"You're staring at me, it's making it hard to concentrate," Chloe admitted. She wasn't lying, North staring at her was distracting her, but not quite for the reason Chloe was letting her believe.

"Shit, sorry," North replied, closing her eyes again.

Chloe moved her hand, gently pressing the curve of the lipstick against North's bottom lip. She tried to focus on what she was supposed to be doing, not how much she wanted to kiss North right now. And it would be so easy, they were so close, so very close to...

"Open your mouth a little," Chloe murmured, hoping her voice wouldn't give her away.

North did as she was told, and Chloe continued, gently pressing colour into the corners of her mouth.

“Go like this?” Chloe asked, pressing her lips together as North opened her eyes again.

North copied her movements, and Chloe couldn’t take her eyes away from her mouth.

“Is it even?”

“Huh?”

“The lipstick.”

“Oh, yeah, yeah, it is. It’s even.” She gave North a big, breezy smile. “You’re all done.”

North frowned. “You sure you’re alright?”

Chloe had already turned her attention back to her hair, looking at herself in the mirror. Anything to avoid North.

“Me? I’m fine,” she replied with a nervous giggle.

“Is something wrong? You know you can talk to me, right?”

North sounded so sincere, and a part of Chloe was desperate to tell her, to admit how she felt, maybe she’d feel the same-

“I’m fine, really,” she lied instead, flinching as she felt a hand on her knee.

“Chloe.”

She knew North didn’t believe her for a second.

“Talk to me.”

Chloe relented, turning in her seat. She couldn’t bring herself to look North in the eye.

“Okay, I’ll tell you, but only if you promise not to laugh,” she said quietly.

“I promise,” North replied, and she sounded sincere.

“Okay, it’s, um…I like someone.”

For the briefest moment, Chloe felt North’s grip tighten on her knee.

“Who is it? Anyone I know?”

Chloe nodded. “The problem is, I don’t know if they like me back. So I don’t want to say anything, in case I ruin a good friendship.”

North scoffed. “How could anyone not like you?” she asked, tilting Chloe’s head to look her in the eye. “You’re perfect.”

Chloe could feel her eyes beginning to sting with tears, and she moved back, out of North’s reach.

“Hey, Chloe, what’s wrong?” she asked, trying to reach for Chloe again.

Chloe jumped to her feet, knocking her chair to the floor with a clatter.

“I can’t- I can’t do this,” she stammered, covering her face with her hands.

“Chloe?” North sounded worried.

“It’s you,” Chloe breathed against the palms of her hands. “Oh God, it’s you.”

Her tears were falling freely now, and she felt trapped, as if stuck in place. She couldn’t move, couldn’t bear to look at North, not now she’d ruined everything-

Soft hands wrapped around Chloe’s wrists, gently tugging her hands away from her face. Chloe looked up at North, scared of how she’d reacted, what she was going to say. But she was smiling.

“Do you know,” she started, and there was a waver in her voice, “how long I’ve hoped you’d say that?”

Chloe’s eyes widened. “What…?” she whispered.

North let go of Chloe’s wrists, gently wiping away her tears. Chloe just let her, watching her every move. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.

“I like you too, Chloe,” North murmured.

She moved closer, taking Chloe’s face in her hands, and kissed her gently, just like the first time. Chloe wrapped her arms around North’s waist, so scared that this was a dream, and it was all going to fall out from under her too soon.

But it didn’t. North was warm and soft against her. No dream could be like this, could be this real.

When they finally pulled away, neither of them knew what to say, breaking into nervous giggles.

“How long?” North asked after a few moments.

“Since the first time you kissed me,” Chloe replied softly, “Maybe even before, and I didn’t realise it until then.”

“I was so scared that night,” North admitted, “I thought…when I kissed you, you’d freak out. I thought I was gonna lose you.”

“Why would you think that?”

North shrugged. “It’s just not really something friends do, is it? I told myself maybe you’d just think it was the wine and we could forget about it. But I hoped...I hoped you’d feel the same way.”

“I thought it _was_ just the wine, and I never said anything because I was scared you’d push me away,” Chloe told her.

North huffed a laugh. “We’re a pair of idiots.”

Chloe smiled, resting her forehead against North’s. “We got there in the end, didn’t we?”

North smiled back, a rare, genuine smile that lit up her face and made her even more beautiful in Chloe’s eyes. If that was even possible.

“Let’s try and get you cleaned up, we don’t have much time before we go on.”

Chloe nodded, righting her chair and sitting down to examine her face. Her mascara had run a little, but it wouldn’t be too hard to fix. She retouched her foundation, reaching for the mascara.

“Here, let me do it,” North offered.

Chloe frowned. “I thought you said your hands were shaky.”

North looked away, embarrassed. “Shit.”

“What’s wrong?”

“You promise you won’t laugh?”

“Promise.”

“I,uh, this sounds so stupid. I- I asked you to do my make-up so I could sit close to you.” She looked up nervously. “Is that weird?”

Chloe shook her head with a smile. “Of course it’s not weird.”

There was a sudden pounding on the dressing room door. “Girls! Five minutes!”

“Okay!” Chloe called back. She watched North move closer, leaning in to steal a quick kiss.

“Hey!” North griped, slapping Chloe’s leg lightly with her free hand as she waved the mascara wand in the other. “I could have got you in the eye.”

“Sorry,” Chloe replied, but the smile pulling at the corners of her mouth made it very clear that she was not in the least bit sorry.

She held still, letting North fix her up again.

“Hey,” North murmured, eyebrows knitted together as she concentrated.

“Mm?”

“No more secrets, okay?”

“No more secrets,” she echoed, as North leaned in for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the softest thing I've ever written in my life. I just *clenches fist* love girls. Please yell more girl pairings at me in the comments, or if you want more of these two. My queer heart needs more of this content to write.
> 
> Tumblr: @maybeishouldwritesomething


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